Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, and physicist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system.

Early Life and Education

Tesla was born in 1856 in Smiljan, in the Austrian Empire, to a Serbian family. He studied engineering at the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz and at the University of Prague.

He worked for the telephone company in Budapest and for the Continental Edison Company in Paris. He emigrated to the United States in 1884.

He worked briefly for Thomas Edison in New York. The relationship was difficult and the two men became rivals.

The Alternating Current System

Tesla developed the alternating current induction motor and the polyphase system. The inventions made the long-distance transmission of electricity possible.

He sold the patents to George Westinghouse, who promoted the alternating current system. The system was adopted for the distribution of electricity throughout the world.

The rivalry with Edison became known as the war of the currents. The alternating current system prevailed because it was more efficient.

The Tesla Coil and the Wireless

Tesla invented the Tesla coil, a device for producing high-voltage electricity. The coil is used in radio and in other applications.

He conducted experiments on wireless transmission and on the possibility of transmitting power without wires. He hoped to develop a worldwide system of wireless communication.

He built a laboratory at Colorado Springs and conducted experiments with high voltages. He later built a tower at Wardenclyffe on Long Island.

The Later Career

Tesla's later career was marked by a series of ambitious projects that were not completed. The Wardenclyffe tower was abandoned for lack of funds.

He worked on the development of radio, of radar, and of other technologies. He held more than three hundred patents.

He became increasingly eccentric and lived in poverty in a series of hotels. He died in 1943 in New York.

The Artificial Intelligence and the Criticism

Tesla was interested in the possibility of the transmission of images and of the recording of thought. He made predictions about the future of technology.

He was a critic of the Edison company and of the business practices of his rivals. He was also a critic of the war and of the exploitation of labour.

He was concerned about the ethical implications of technology. He argued for the peaceful use of science.

The Legacy

Tesla is regarded as one of the greatest inventors in the history of electrical engineering. The unit of magnetic flux density, the tesla, is named in his honour.

The company Tesla Motors is named after him. The Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade preserves his papers and his equipment.

He is remembered for his imagination and for his contributions to the electrical age. His work continues to be studied and to be celebrated.

The Induction Motor

Tesla invented the alternating current induction motor. The machine does not require a commutator and is more reliable than the direct current motor.

The invention made the long-distance transmission of electricity possible. It was licensed by the Westinghouse company.

The system was adopted for the distribution of electricity throughout the world. It is the basis of the modern power grid.

The Tesla Coil

Tesla invented the Tesla coil in 1891. The device produces high-voltage electricity and is used in radio and in other applications.

The coil is used in research and in education. It is also used in television and in other devices.

The invention is one of his most important contributions. It is named in his honour.

The Wireless Experiments

Tesla experimented with the wireless transmission of energy. He built a laboratory at Colorado Springs and later a tower at Wardenclyffe.

He hoped to develop a worldwide system of wireless communication and of power. The project was abandoned for lack of funds.

His work anticipated the development of radio and of wireless technology. The tower at Wardenclyffe has been preserved.

The Early Life

Tesla was born in 1856 in the village of Smiljan in the Austrian Empire. His father was a priest and his mother was an inventor of household devices.

He studied at the polytechnic in Graz and at the university in Prague. He worked for the telephone company in Budapest and for the Continental Edison Company in Paris.

He emigrated to the United States in 1884. He worked for Edison and then established his own laboratory.

The Later Years

Tesla received many honours in his lifetime. The unit of magnetic flux density is named the tesla in his honour.

He lived alone in a hotel in New York in his last years. He died in 1943 in poverty.

His papers and his inventions remain a subject of study. He is regarded as one of the greatest inventors of the modern age.

See also

• Alternating current
• Tesla coil